Eidolon

Nightmare World (Metal Blade)
by Martin Popoff

Eidolon‘s third record is gathering some buzz due to Glen Drover’s increasing stature as guitarist for King Diamond. Drover is also proving himself to be a capable producer – organizing, constructing and engineering this flawless record, synergizing the band’s far-flung talents (brother, drummer, and chief writer Shawn resides in Atlanta; Glen is in Toronto) into a no-nonsense paean to power metal done the old way, most notably the machine gun riffs of King Diamond and Mercyful Fate.

But the cool thing here is that the forward thrust is all guitars and vocals – stinging yet warm riffs (I hear “Doctor Butcher”!) strafed by expert solos, iced by the doomfully methodical and melodic vocals of Brian Soulard, who takes Eidolon underground into the lonely tragic-metal space of Fates Warning. Fave track is “Lunar Mission” with its cloud-clearing chorus and Rush-like lyric, nipped at the heels by the characteristic electric blast of opener “Nightmare World,” a unified power metal stomper that could slay a hot U.D.O. performance at fifty yards of leather.
(2828 Cochran St. PMB#302 Simi Valley, CA 93065)